Battle of Jamestown

The Battle of Jamestown (summer 1607) was the first battle between the Colony of Virginia and the Powhatan Confederacy. The Virginia settlers under John Smith, armed with muskets, were able to repel attacks by the Powhatan with light losses.

Background
In 1607, Captain Christopher Newport landed at Cape Henry (off of Maryland and Virginia) with three ships carrying John Smith and new English adventurers, and the adventurers founded the settlement of Jamestown. The new settlement was small and the people had a hard time searching for food, gold, or other important goods needed for their expedition to be successful. Instead, they came into contact with the Powhatan Confederacy, who were hostile towards them. That summer, an army of 198 warriors under Chief Cheeseekau attacked Jamestown.

Battle
Captain John Smith distributed arms to 105 able-bodied men and trained them to shoot arquebuses, and the settlers took up positions in firing lines behind small piles of wood to use as cover. There were only a few archers on the Powhatan side, so the English had the advantage of ranged weaponry in addition to swords. The English troops were able to repel many Powhatan attacks, mainly coming in waves of 15 men. The English captain Giles Nordstrom was killed in melee combat with the Powhatan warriors, but only 23 other English men were killed - 105 Powhatan were killed in action and the Indians were forced to retreat.